FEDERAL POLITICAL PARTIES SHOULD TAKE YOUR PERSONAL PRIVACY SERIOUSLY AND COMPLY WITH BC’S PERSONAL INFORMATION PROTECTION ACT
Canada’s main federal political parties (FPPs) are working to circumvent privacy protection laws that protect the personal information of voters.
The FPPs are in an inherent conflict of interest when dealing with the personal information of the electorate. They legislate private and public bodies to constrain the collection, use, disclosure, destruction, and retention of personal information, yet advocate for the absence of legal constraints on their activities. They seek exemption precisely because they benefit from the lack of constraints. These benefits include the manipulation of personal information for the marketing and communication of each FPPs’ commercial and electoral activities.
The operation of “one set of rules for us and another for everybody else” should not be allowed to continue.
Our federal politicians make the rules that apply to commercial organizations in Personal Information and Protection of Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and the public sector in the Privacy Act (PA). They contend that the FPPs should not be subject to the same rules. The BC Supreme Court disagrees and recently held that BC’s Private Information Protection Act (PIPA) applies to the FPPs.
Privacy of online data and personal information is increasingly at risk in the age of microtargeting and disinformation. Ensuring the FPPs are held to the same standard as all other organizations will close a critical gap in Canada’s personal data protections.
Resisting these rules has the potential to impact the privacy of citizens and undermine citizens’ trust in, and the integrity of, Canada’s democratic system. The FPPs should accept the BC Supreme Court ruling that protects their constituents and support the addition of privacy protections for all people in Canada in an updated federal privacy law. (Liberal Party of Canada v. The Complainants, 2024 BCSC 814)
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Our message is simple:
We the undersigned support the BC complainants who have requested their personal information from the federal political parties according to their access rights enshrined in legislation and ask the federal political parties to respect the laws that protect personal information.
Email us at yourpoliticalprivacy at fipa.bc.ca to add your name to the list.
